Andrew College welcomes students, accreditation officials

CUTHBERT — More than 25 families attended a Preview Visit Day on the campus of Andrew College recently. Attendees were treated to a full day of events that included a presidential welcome, a financial aid workshop, a student-led panel discussion, campus tours, individual academic sessions, athletic discussions and lunch.

Andy Geeter, Andrew’s vice president of enrollment, said he was pleased with the turnout for the first Preview Day of 2018.

“We usually have a good crowd, but it was especially rewarding to see so many prospective students turn out for a visit day so early in the year, Geeter said. “Students here for the day expressed interest in learning more about our nursing, fine arts, social science, science, timber management and business degree programs. Plus, of course, a number of students were interested in participating in athletics. The majority of visitors were from Georgia, Alabama and Florida.”

Other scheduled opportunities to visit Andrew include mini-Preview Days (Marvelous Mondays) designed to offer potential students a look into college life. They will be held on the Mondays of April 2, 9 and 16. These visits days coincide with some common school holidays.

The next Preview Day will be held on April 21. Individual visits can also be scheduled. For more information, go to www.andrewcollege.edu/visitation-days

Andrew also received an official accreditation visit from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The SACSCOC accreditation team focused on the recently approved new bachelor’s degree in business administration, but its visit also opened the gateway for the college to seek permission to apply for approval to offer other baccalaureate programs.

President Linda R. Buchanan said that the visit was an important milestone in the college’s quest to add baccalaureate degrees to serve the region.

“Last fall, Andrew College started its first nursing class and regenerative agriculture and timber management associate degree programs,” Buchanan said. “Andrew College also now offers a certificate in cancer registry management.”

SACSCOC is the regional accreditation commission for degree-granting higher education institutions in 11 southern states. Visiting SACSCOC teams seek to assure educational quality and improve the effectiveness of its member institutions. The accreditation visit is part of an ongoing continuous improvement process that affirms official accreditation at the baccalaureate level.